Forever With You
by Susan Bell
Summary: After watching her grandmother die, Winnie decides to make a choice that will change her live forever. Mostly movie based, but with the book's timeline.
1. Of Enchanted Springs

Title: Forever With You  
  
By: Susan Bones  
  
Email: thechocolatefroggy@yahoo.com  
  
  
Summary: After watching her grandmother die, Winnie decides that she won't ever be that woman dying in bed. Movie based.  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Category: Romance, Drama, Angst, Fantasy  
  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine. Sorry.  
  
  
Forever With You  
Susan Bones  
October 2002  
  
  
For Winifred Foster, everything changed the moment she saw her grandmother lying there in her bed. The elderly woman took in short, rapid breathes, her eyelids tinged a purplish color. Winnie watched in a sort of fascinated horror (it was first dying person after all and it was her grandmother at that) as her mother climbed into the bed alongside her grandmother. And as she watched, Winnie wondered if that would one day be herself, with her own daughter curled up beside her, weeping as the last of Winnie's life slipped away.  
  
*No* Winnie thought suddenly and furiously *Not, that won't ever be me. I shan't ever die. *  
  
She turned and stole away from the cold, silent room, the touch-me-not cottage, and the front yard, which had held her captive for so many years.  
  
She stepped outside of the fence and looked back briefly, half-expecting to hear her mother calling sternly after her to get back inside this instant before she soiled her dress.  
  
But there came no shout.  
  
Winnie ran blindly, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks in a mad rush. She did not know, exactly, why she was crying anymore than you or I do. However, if I were to guess, I would suggest she was crying because she was thinking about the Tucks again. Not so many days ago, she had been walking down this very path and in a few moments had come upon Jesse Tuck and everything had sort of spun out of control from here.  
  
But I do know what she was thinking and she was thinking that the Tucks would find her eventually. Jesse would come for her, just as he'd promised and they would like together forever.  
  
After a great deal of time (Winnie did not know how much time, really, only that it was quite a bit, for the sun was just about to leave them for the day), Winnie came upon the spring. She found herself expecting to see him sitting there beside the spring, washing his face in the strange water.  
  
But there was no one, save for a rather fat sparrow.  
  
"Oh, I wouldn't drink from that if I were you," Winnie advised it, "But I am not you, you see. I've got a handsome young man coming for me someday and I've got to wait for him. This spring's going to help me."  
  
She had never exactly been a very patient girl, however, and she quite hoped Jesse would come soon.  
  
The sparrow looked at her narrowly.  
  
"Move, would you? I've got to be back home soon or my parent will think I've gone and run away again," Winnie said, taking a step forward and frowning slightly.  
  
The sparrow gave a little hop, but did not move.  
  
"Now see here, sparrow," Winnie began sternly, "Move over right now. You are not the keeper of this spring."  
  
The sparrow gave her a "That's what you think" sort of glare before flying away and Winnie was sorry she had been so cross with the bird.  
  
"Thank you!" she called after it, waving and suddenly feeling quite cheerful.  
  
She knelt by the spring, hearing its merry (but all the while somehow dreadful) bubbling.  
  
She put a hand into the water and once heard  
  
(no, it's poisoned!)  
  
voices exploding in her head. She drew her hand out of the spring and began to cry again. She put both of her hands up to her face, catching her tears as they fell.  
  
She saw the Tucks as clearly as though they were right there in front of her. She could smell Mae Tuck's cinnamony mother smell and see her cooking dinner, whistling gleefully, saw Miles grinning in spite of himself, Angus Tuck dancing in front of the fire with Mae Tuck twirling in around him.  
  
And Jesse.  
  
Jesse, with his lopsided smile, his messy brown curls that always seemed to have a twig or two planted within them, his slender, sunburned frame and his eyes. His bright, seawater colored eyes.  
  
Winnie cried harder, longing to feel Jesse's arms wrapped tightly around her.  
  
The Tucks were her real family. It was them to whom she really belonged.  
  
She had never belonged to the prim and proper world of her parents, but to the wild, carefree and timeless world that was the world of the Tucks.  
  
Presently, her tears came to an end and she wiped her eyes and nose on her sleeve.   
  
Again, she dipped a hand into the cold, sweet smelling water and heard Tuck's voice in her head  
  
(what we have ain't livin', we just *are*, like rocks by a river)  
  
and she paused. *Did* she want to be like a rock, not really living, but just being?  
  
She found she could not really think of an answer to that and so her mind promptly turned back to Jesse for comfort.  
  
(I won't ever let you go, Winnie Foster)  
  
(I'll love you until my dying day)  
  
(until we meet again, wake with the sun)  
  
She closed her eyes, a bittersweet emotion she could not immediately place flowing through her. Tuck tried once again to warn her that she would be like a rock, but she pushed him away, focusing instead on Jesse's lopsided grin.  
  
She plunged both of her hands into the water and drank deeply. 


	2. Of Witchy Rumors

Title: Forever With You  
  
By: Susan Bones  
  
Email: thechocolatefroggy@yahoo.com  
  
  
Summary: After watching her grandmother die, Winnie decides that she won't ever be that woman dying in bed. Movie based.  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Category: Romance, Drama, Fantasy  
  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine. Sorry.  
  
  
Forever With You  
  
Susan Bones  
  
October 2002  
  
  
Winnie returned home after that and discovered she had not been missed. Her father was in town and her mother had retreated to her bedroom.  
  
And so it was that time passed. The days grew shorter and the wind grew wintry. No one dared leave the house without a coat, for influenza had popped up in Treegap that year. Winnie watched as her father became very sick with it and then her mother. She herself was untouched.  
  
Winnie "turned" sixteen, and then seventeen, but she looked exactly the same as she had during that never-to-be-forgotten summer.  
  
Mrs. Foster was uneasy. She thought it rather strange her seventeen-year-old daughter still looked fifteen. She did not take Winnie into the town as often, for she hated the stares her daughter attracted. She supposed the town's people talked. She so detested being the center of their gossip and one day turned to Mr. Foster.  
  
"They are calling us witches, Father," she informed him heavily. Mr. Foster looked at her wearily. This was not the first time she had told him this, nor would it be the last. He was perfectly aware of this fact. He was not, by nature, a stupid man.  
  
"Nonsense, Mother," he replied, though he did not believe his own words, "We are highly respected."  
  
Mrs. Foster had been needlepointing and now she looked up.  
  
"I am not so sure," she answered softly. Mr. Foster did not know how to reply and so the two of them lapsed into silence.  
  
And indeed did the town's people talk, as most people tend to when something strange is happening. They never outright called the Fosters witches, but some came very close, especially when they were drunk. Mr. Foster would have been pleased to note that the name Foster still commanded a certain respect.  
  
But even so, there were whispers about that Winnie, that girl who did not seem to be aging at all. Old Mrs. Waddles down at the Lady Day saloon said that it had something to do with those Tucks, the ones who had kidnapped her two years ago. Dot Freemantle said that was absolute nonsense. Those Tucks had just been a bad lot. Good riddance to bad rubbish, she said. Mr. Parris (who had only recently moved to Treegap from Salem, Massachusetts) warned them that if the Fosters were witches, then surely they would know they were being talked about. This hushed the Lady Day for a moment.  
  
And then old Mrs. Waddles spoke.  
  
"Oh posh! They ain't witches anymore than I am. Them Tucks mighta been and they probably taught the girl a thing or two, but to say Elizabeth Foster's a witch is—"  
  
"Well then why don't we run the damned child out?" spoke up a new voice. The whole of the Lady Day whirled and looked into the north corner, where a grimy, sour looking fellow stood.  
  
"Yes!" cried another, "Out with the witch child!"  
  
"Oh honestly," Dot breathed, rolling her eyes at Mrs. Waddles.  
  
The Lady Day became very noisy with various, shouted plans and during it all, one figure slipped away unnoticed.  
  
  
  
**  
  
  
  
Back at the touch-me-not cottage, Mrs. Foster had decided to approach her daughter on the subject of the Tucks.  
  
"They didn't … teach you spells, child?" Mrs. Foster now asked.  
  
"No, Mother," Winnie said, for what felt like the thousandth time in the ten minutes her mother had been questioning her.  
  
"You're sure? None of them approached you in the middle of the night and asked you to sign a –"  
  
"*No*, Mother!" Winnie cried out, springing to her feet. She hated the way her mother spoke of the Tucks, as they were the slimy goo you sometimes found on your shoe after a hard rain.  
  
"Winnie," Mrs. Foster said alluringly, putting a hand out to her daughter. Winnie twisted away from it.  
  
"Do not touch me!" she said harshly, "And don't you speak ill of the Tucks! I love them. They are my friends and they were good to me and I love them; Mae, and Tuck, and Miles. And Jesse. Jesse loves me, Mother! He loves me and he's coming back for me someday and we'll be married and live forever—"  
  
"Not forever, dearest," Mrs. Foster said gently, cutting into her daughter's unladylike rant. She was rather startled by the revelation about this Jesse character. She would have the constable be on the lookout for him. Surely he was a shadowy fellow, this Jesse, for he was one of those dirty, poor kidnappers, "No one lives forever."  
  
Winnie looked at her mother, her dark blue eyes (eyes she had inherited from her mother, eyes Jesse Tuck had fallen in love with at first site, though this was not to Winnie's knowing, but a secret that you and I must keep from her for the time being) wide with surprise.  
  
"But I will, Mother," she told her mother perplexedly.  
  
Mrs. Foster blinked.  
  
"W-What?"  
  
"I will live forever. I drank the water when I was fifteen, back before Granny died, and I guess I'll stay fifteen until the end of the world," Winnie said. Now she was beginning to feel a little nervous. The look in her mother's eye was rather unsettling.  
  
"You're a witch," Mrs. Foster declared flatly after a moment's silence, "You've sold your soul to the Devil for whatever reason. Was it for that no-good Jesse Tuck? Or for those *friends* of yours?"  
  
Winnie gaped at her mother in alarm.  
  
"No, Mother, it was the spring, only a spr—" Winnie began to protest, but she suddenly found herself on the floor.  
  
"Witch!" Mrs. Foster shrieked, a dangerous and furious glint in her eyes, "Get out of here. Get out now and I'll not have the whole town upon you."  
  
"Mother!" Winnie cried helplessly, but there was no help to be found.  
  
"I am not your mother," Mrs. Foster answered coldly, "Now get out of here."  
  
And what could poor Winnie do?  
  
She ran.  
  
  
Thanks to: My wonderful reviewers, Diagon Alley (yes, I did see TBF was up, I'll have to check that one out. It's one of my favorites, after all. J), Roger and Ebert (hey, thanks! Such compliments. You might make my head inflate. Just kidding), Heavenly Rose (glad you liked it!), SugarCub55 (yes, more is coming, don't worry. I'm going to use this ending every time I read the book, so I guess I'll have to finish it. Lol), Nicole Christensen (awww, thank you! I'm feeling so loved here!), Cheese Crackers (calm down, it's ok, more is coming, don't you worry), and Jessica (I'm so glad you liked this. And thanks for saying please. J) You guys are the best and I always look forwarding to reading your opinions. You have no idea how much your reviews are appreciated!!! Thanks again, guys! 


	3. Of Muddy Reunions

Title: Forever With You  
  
By: Susan Bones  
  
Email: thechocolatefroggy@yahoo.com  
  
  
Summary and all that other stuff can be found in Chapters One and Two. I'm too lazy to copy and paste it. ;)  
  
  
  
  
Jesse stood outside the Foster home, examining it. He had never seen Winnie's house in the day light, come to think of it. It was a towering, lovely house, but held a somewhat forbidding tone about it. Its white trimming did not seem friendly at all; instead it seemed to warn him not to come any closer. The likes of Jesse Tuck were not welcome.  
  
Jesse ignored this. He had never been one that had to feel welcome to do anything. He approached the house slowly, gazing at the window he knew to be Winnie's, hoping to see her beaming down at him …  
  
But the window remained empty.  
  
Jesse stood at the front door and knocked softly.  
  
  
  
**  
  
  
  
"But why, Mother? Why would you do such a thing? She is still our daughter, our only daughter!" Mr. Foster begged of his wife.  
  
  
"She said she was eternal and you cannot be eternal without having something to do with Black magic," Mrs. Foster replied shortly.  
  
"But you said she mentioned a spring," Mr. Foster told her.  
  
Mrs. Foster brushed this fact aside.  
  
"Oh, Father," she said with a wave of her hand, "The girl was speaking nonsense and you know it."  
  
"I do not," Mr. Foster replied firmly, "And I want Winnie found."  
  
Let me pause here to make something clear. Mr. Foster loved Winnie very much and he wanted to give her the world. Yet at the moment all he was sure of was the detail that if Winnie had indeed gone for good, then the Foster property would fall to Mr. Foster's second cousin and I can assure you Mr. Foster would never rest easy in his grave knowing *that. *  
  
"I'll not keep a thing like that in my house," Mrs. Foster answered contemptuously, narrowing her eyes.  
  
"You have no say in the matter and you never have, woman," Mr. Foster snapped. Mrs. Foster jerked as though she had been slapped (and in a way she had, for Jonathan Foster had never said anything of that nature to her, not had he said it with such a hateful manner) and put a hand over her heart.  
  
"Yes, Father," she said softly, dropping her eyes. The servants were gathered outside the parlor doors, as they always did when the master and mistress had a dispute, their eyes wide. They understood something very crucial had just taken place in that room, but they were not to understand.  
  
For you see, Mrs. Foster had always been rather outspoken for a lady. But Mr. Foster quite liked that about her and had never done anything about it.  
  
However, he felt she had gone too far, speaking of his daughter in such a fashion.  
  
And always after that were Mother and Father Foster rather distant with one another. You see, they really had on thing in common, one thing they had always agreed upon and that was Winnie. And when she was gone, they had nothing in common anymore. Or nothing they knew of, at any rate, for they hardly ever spoke of personal things.  
  
But enough on that, for no more would have passed between them on the subject even if the knock on the door had no come.  
  
  
  
**  
  
  
"Now ain't the best time, sir. The master and mistress are havin' a bit of a tiff and –"  
  
"Who's there, Mary?" came a firm voice.  
  
The servant girl –Mary—looked to Jesse imploringly.  
  
"Jesse Tuck," he said, feeling it necessary to stand a little straighter all of a sudden.  
  
"Jesse Tuck!" Mary called in reply to her mistress.  
  
"Oh really?" the voice replied, sounding both grave and amused. There was a pause, during which Mary disappeared and Jesse had a sinking.  
  
Then a tall, lovely woman appeared in the doorway. She had piled her rich, dark curls on top of her head in an elegant (yet strict) bun. Her face was thin and narrow, sharp and indifferent. Her eyes were of the same dark blue as those of her daughter, but they held none of the lively sparkle Winnie's always danced with. Jesse felt that this detail made the woman lovely and Winnie beautiful.  
  
She was clad in a flowing white dress, far from simple and bedecked with lace and flowered patterns.  
  
"So. You're Jesse Tuck," she said, her voice low and with an edge of frostiness.  
  
"Erm … yes, I am," Jesse said, somewhat hesitantly. The tall woman made him feel as though he were an extremely stupid creature, one who would not possibly know why he was on the front porch of the Fosters, of all people.  
  
"Looking for Winnie, I imagine?"  
  
"Yes, ma'am."  
  
"You'll not find her here. She's … she's dead." The woman's tone was final.  
  
Jesse suddenly felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him.  
  
"D-Dead, ma'am?" he managed.  
  
"Yes," the woman informed him flatly, "Caught influenza last fall. Terrible case of it."  
  
She shrugged, as if to say, "What can you do?"  
  
Something about this seemed terribly wrong to Jesse, but he swept the feeling away.  
  
"I see. I'm sorry for disturbing you, ma'am."  
  
"Of course," she said, looking as though she was trying to smile warmly and failing miserably, "I suggest you get out of town promptly. No one's too fond of a Tuck around here."  
  
With that, she closed the door quickly. Jesse stood, frozen, staring at the decorative carvings in the door.  
  
Winnie was dead?  
  
He found this impossible to accept. Because that would mean she would have forgotten. It would mean she had not gone to the spring.  
  
He turned swiftly and walked away from the touch-me-not cottage, suddenly angry with Winnie.  
  
"She should have gone straight to the spring once that flu popped up, it would have protected her. Didn't she see that?"   
  
He kicked a rock lying beside the road. She'd been stupid not to run straight to the spring.  
  
He passed through the yard, his head down, the brown curls Winnie loved so much dangling in front of his eyes. Miles had come down to Treegap with him and Jesse supposed he might as well find his brother.  
  
He thought briefly of the villagers. He had come to the Foster home to warn Winnie about them, but she had died, so it really didn't matter. It seemed he should be seeing something, a clue to whatever was going on here that was right in front of his face …  
  
He sighed wearily and shoved his hands deep into his pockets. Miles had probably gone into the wood (to visit the old home, perhaps) and Jesse supposed the wood was as good a place as any to start looking for him.  
  
  
**  
  
  
Winnie ran blindly, not paying any sort of attention to where she was going, really. She entered the wood and she at first thought it was a mistake on her part, for as she ran thorns clawed at her, branches slapped her, and rocks cut into her bare feet. She was vaguely aware of the reality that her dress was in tatters and stained with splashes of mud. Once, she tripped and fell into a shallow puddle. There she sat for a moment, looking around with wide eyes. Her hair was matted to her neck and back, slippery with sweat. Tears strayed down her cheeks in occasional intervals, but Winnie paid them no attention.  
  
And all at once she froze. The distant sound of a bubbling spring reached her ears. She was back on her feet in a moment, dashing towards the spring and looking (as one might suggest) like one who has suddenly found their way home.  
  
She at last came to the spring and knelt beside it, trying to ease her breathing. She dipped her hands into the cool water, splashing it onto her face and neck. Then she laid her head against the rim of the spring and closed her eyes.  
  
  
  
**  
  
  
She woke with a start sometime later and at first she was not clear as to why she had wakened.  
  
Then she looked straight ahead and simultaneously drew in a sharp, startled breath and broke into a grin.  
  
The sun had left them for the day, it had gone to watch over people elsewhere. But there was still light, for Miles Tuck hardly went anywhere without a lantern.  
  
"Miles!" Winnie cried and then she had flung both her arms around him and she hugged him tightly.  
  
"Winnie Foster!" he laughed, pulling back to examine her, "Jesse told you we'd be back for you."  
  
Winnie nodded, suddenly afraid to let Miles get a good look at her.  
  
"And you're seventeen now, that will please Jesse, I'm sure," Miles continued.  
  
"Yes," Winnie agreed meekly. Miles paused in his excited babbling and squinted at her.  
  
"Are you all right, Winnie?" he asked her gently. She began to now, but two fat tears rolled down her cheeks, betraying her emotions.  
  
"I say, Winnie, what's wrong?" Miles inquired, suddenly looking alarmed. He held up the lantern to get a better look at her.  
  
There was a very pregnant pause.  
  
"Why, you don't look a day older than when we last saw you!" Miles said.   
  
To this, Winnie burst out, "I drank the water, Miles! My grandmother was dying and I was watching her and I could not bear to think that that would be me one day, so I drank the water. I do not wish to die, Miles!"  
  
Miles pursed his lips and looked hard at her. And then he did a curious thing; he smiled at her.  
  
"Don't be upset, Winnie," he said reassuringly, "I'm not mad at you."  
  
"Just disappointed," Winnie muttered sullenly.  
  
To this, Miles made no reply. Both were rather quiet for a while. Miles sat down on the ground, setting his lantern next to him. Winnie sat across from him.  
  
"Well," Miles said at length, "At least you can come with us now."  
  
"I sure can," mumbled Winnie, her face shuddering (rather like a window if you were to slam a door hard enough) and within moments she found herself telling Miles the whole awful story.  
  
He was a very good audience, if he was nothing else. He nodded in all the right places, frowning disapprovingly in others. When she drew to the portion which consisted of the fight with her mother, his eyes sparkled and he clenched his hands tightly.  
  
"Why the hearty little buggers!" he roared when she had finished, "Winnie Foster, a witch!"  
  
Winnie said nothing, plucking at a leaf on the ground.  
  
"Don't you worry, you'll come with us and you won't have to have to worry about those parents of yours. We'll be your family," Miles added heatedly.  
  
Winnie looked up at him. He was right, she knew, she could go with the Tucks and they would be a cheery lot. She quite liked the idea.  
  
Then Miles' eyes shifted to something behind her.  
  
"There you are! Look who I've found!" he grinned, waving.  
  
Winnie, wholly puzzled at this, turned around to find a very perplexed Jesse Tuck standing between two trees.  
  
  
  
Thanks to:   
  
O'Fruit Punch – Well, now you know what Winnie did. ;)  
  
Valencia Loring – Don't we all love Jesse? Lol. But thanks a lot. I feel really special. And moved. And touched. And … right. If I ever write a book, I'll look for you in those sign up lines, ok?   
  
Veritas4eternity (as in Draco Veritas?) – Ah, the too lazy to sign in thing. We've all been there. Lol. And thanks! I'm glad you've liked it so far!  
  
SugarCube55 – Don't worry. I'll write more. School's bein' a bugger, but I'm getting through it. Billions of tests every day. Ugh. Anyways, you're welcome for thanking you and thanks for saying thanks!  
  
HeavenlyRose – It's all right. The number of reviews I've written while half asleep … *sighs* So, anyway, I'm so glad you like the story!! And yes, good thoughts are coming. I could make this thing go on forever … but I won't. :)  
  
Lauren – You know, you're the first person I've ever known to be patiently waiting for an installment, whether it be for one of my stories, or someone else's. lol. And you're welcome, by the way. I feel loved.  
  
Julie Jewelrannah – No, she didn't find the Tucks. They found her. Lol. Thanks, though. I'm happy you're liking the story so far!!  
  
  
A/N: Poor Jesse. Does anyone feel bad for him besides me? First Winnie's dead and now he finds her talking to Miles … what will he do? Will Winnie go with the Tucks? Like she's going to say no. :) And whatever happened to those town's people at the Lady Day? All questions shall be answered in the final installment, which has not been named yet, because I'm a loser. And I'm just fine with that. Lol. Just between you and me, I sort of forgot about those Lady Day-er's. Stayed tuned for the fourth and final chapter! 


	4. Of The Tucks Everlasting

Title: Forever With You  
  
By: Susan Bones  
  
Email: thechocolatefroggy@yahoo.com  
  
  
Summary and all other details are found in Chapter One  
  
  
"Winnie," Jesse breathed, his seawater eyes wide with wonder, confusion and a bright, glowing joy, "You're here."  
  
"I'm here, Jesse," Winnie answered, suddenly all too aware of her muddy, torn dress and her wild, tangled hair.  
  
"Of course I'm here, Jesse. Did you think I'd gone somewhere?" she added, looking almost politely puzzled. Jesse opened his mouth to reply, shut it, and then opened it again.  
  
"That's a very good fish imitation, Jess," Miles said, grinning a little.  
  
Jesse glanced at him before seeming to dismiss him all together.  
  
"It doesn't matter," he told Winnie softly, "We're together again."  
  
"Yes," Winnie whispered before running into the comforting, loving circle that was Jesse's embrace. Miles smiled a little painfully at them before looking away.  
  
"Oh, Jesse, I've missed you so," Winnie said quietly, tightening her arms around Jesse's neck. It was as though she feared to let go.  
  
"I've missed you too, Winnie Foster," Jesse answered, a shy grin blooming on his lips, "But I'm here now and we can go to the spring and we'll be together-"  
  
"Jesse," Winnie said, pulling back a little. Jesse had another sinking. He knew what she would say: "I've done a lot of thinking, Jesse, and I love you, but I can't be with you. I want to live. I want to *grow*. I'm so sorry, I love you, I really do but-"  
  
"Jesse," repeated Winnie, with a bit of alarm in her voice, for he did not seem to be hearing her at all, "Jesse, are you all right?"  
  
"Yes," Jesse answered a tad dully. Winnie pursed her lips, but she said nothing about it.  
  
"Jesse, look at me. It's been two years since last we saw each other. Surely you remember the way I looked back them," Winnie said.  
  
"Sure I do, Winnie. You look exactly the same," Jesse said blankly, not sure as to what her point was. And then he blinked and it hit him, "You did it, oh Winnie!" he cried out, laughing. Winnie smiled wanly.  
  
"I went to the spring the day my grandmother died, two days after you tucks left," she informed him. Jesse paused, his hands on her hips.  
  
"But why, Winnie? Because you didn't want to live anymore? Your parents? Are you afraid to die?" he asked.  
  
Winnie blushed a little and looked away.  
  
"Because I do not think I could have lived a real life without you, Jesse Tuck," she said quietly  
  
Jesse grinned, a little embarrassed.  
  
"I love you, Winnie Foster," he said.  
  
"I love you too, Jesse," she replied, her cheeks flaming. Jesse bent down and kissed her tenderly. He broke it off after a couple of seconds, and looked at her for a moment, seeming to study her intently. Winnie blushed a little harder under his piercing gaze and then he kissed her again. It was like none of their other kisses, which always seemed to be shy and uncertain. Jesse put all of his emotions into this one, everything he felt for Winnie Foster. It was confident and passionate and Winnie felt her blush spread throughout her whole body. She was lightheaded and her inner thighs tingled.  
  
And then it was over. Jesse rested his forehead against Winnie's, breathing a little harder than was normal.  
  
They stayed in this position for a moment or so, eyes closed, a perfect unity of souls.  
  
"Forever with you, Winnie," Jesse murmured before pulling away. Miles had wandered off a few yards and now he looked at them, one eyebrow raised.  
  
"I was afraid I might have to put out a fire for a minute there," he informed them matter-of-factly before stooping to pick up his lantern, "Let's get out of here. Mae'll be wanting to see Winnie."  
  
Winnie slipped her hand into Jesse's as they followed Miles out of the wood.  
  
  
  
**  
  
  
They passed by a small crowd in front of a saloon called the Lady Day. All three heard whispered comments and I suspect only Jesse fully understood.  
  
"Said the girl's dead, did she?"  
  
"Codswallop, if you ask me. Protectin' the hell bound child's what she's doin',"  
  
"Girl sure didn't look sick last time she been here."  
  
"Wa'n't that just last week?"  
  
"Why, Abigail Williams went up there just the other day to deliver Mrs. Foster's new dress. Says the girl answered, lookin' right as rain, if not a bit young for seventeen."  
  
"It's witchcraft, I knows it."  
  
"It's gotta be."  
  
"Aw, who cares? That girl'll be gettin' what she deserves, associatin' with the Devil and all. Straight to Hell for that one when she dies."  
  
"Best not pay attention to her. Always thought them Fosters were an unstable lot, meself."  
  
Jesse, Miles, and Winnie looked at each other before hurrying on their way out of town, none of them daring to look back.  
  
  
**  
  
  
Mr. and Mrs. Foster had a grave put into the cemetery beside Mrs. Foster's mother's plot a week later. They had given up any hope of finding the girl, dead or alive and since the villagers believed Winnie to be dead, they thought it would be convincing if a grave were in the cemetery.  
  
Those at the Lady Day eventually forgot Winnie Foster had ever existed.  
  
Years passed, Treegap went under a series of radical changes, as all small towns eventually do when the modern world finally catches up to them. Mr. and Mrs. Foster passed away and the property went to Michael Darling of London, England, Mr. Foster's second cousin. He did not talk much to the town's people and wrote stories about a flying boy named Peter. He was thought quite mad for claims of once knowing the boy.  
  
As for Miles Tuck, eight years after he and Jesse brought Winnie back to the Tucks, he moved to a little town by name of Derry. There he met a sweet, charming woman called Valencia Loring. They were married a year after they met in 1958 and six months after Miles had told her of the spring. She had agreed to drink from it. They traveled back to Treegap one final time and three months later the wood (along with the spring) was destroyed in a fire. Miles thought it very lucky he had taken three bottles full of water with him.  
  
Angus Tuck was hardly upset with Winnie for drinking from the spring. He only embraced her tightly; glad he had not lost this precious girl to the wheel.  
  
"Are you ours now, Winnie?" Mae asked, her eyes brimming with tears. Winnie (her own eyes tearing) could only nod and Mae and Tuck clasped her so firmly, she could not breathe.  
  
They were elated by the news that she and Jesse were to be married the next week and as they stood in the common room of their new home, Winnie looked around at them. The Tucks. Her darling Tucks. She sighed contentedly, the sound of the Tuck's laughter and their merry voices all around her.  
  
She was home.  
  
  
Thanks to:  
Haven (Yes. Yes, they are. And who says you can't have them both? Lol)  
Jenna (Glad you liked it! And you're welcome)  
Ingrid (Aww, thanks! That's really sweet of you. I feel loved. Lol. Hope you liked chapter four as much as the first three)  
CrazyBeautiful Dru (I'm delighted you liked it! Thanks for the review!)  
Lily (Yes, poor Jesse. I felt bad for him after chapter three. Poor boy goes through a lot of torment. I need to stop watching so many soap operas. I hope you enjoyed this installment as much as you did the others!)  
  
A/N: Well, there you go. Chapter four is complete. I'd like to thank all my reviewers once again! I love you guys! And a special thank you to Valencia Loring for just being so darn cute! Lol. I hope you all had as much fun reading the story as I did writing it. Thanks again, you guys are the best!  
  
^Susie^ 


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